ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Today in Spain at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, Team USA faced off against New Zealand. Like they do before many international sports matches, the New Zealand players first performed a traditional dance called the Haka. According to Wikipedia, the Haka is “a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.”

Here’s an animated GIF of the New Zealand team performing the Haka, with James Harden looking on…

51 Comments

James Harden watching the Haka with unbelievable and shocking face won’t give him a ring just oa FIBA ring. He needs to play with our “king” LeBron in Cleveland. We will trade all New Zealander player to Rockets for James Harden. We will now have Fantastic Four in Cleveland. Kyrie Erving, Kevin Love, James Harden and our “king” LeBron

Forgive my ignorance, but how did Ibaka get into the Spanish team? Naturalization I suppose. We probably should have naturalized Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, and one of the Gasol bros and convinced them to play for the US.

One of 18 siblings, Serge moved to Spain as a teenager, with refugee status, after his father was imprisoned and her mother and several of his siblings killed during the Congo civil war. He learned his basketball skills and became a professional baller there, playing in the youth division of team Manresa. He speaks perfect Castillian Spanish, without any hint of a foreign accent, and both before and after getting naturalized he has always been very vocal about how grateful he is to Spain. In his own words he owes everything to Spain, never had a real life or a future until he moved there and that’s where he grew to become a man and wants to retire after he has finished his career in the NBA. Serge has shown more compromise and love for his country than many natural-born Spaniards. He is an extremely honest and grateful young man who has had a really hard life, and you should not judge him or his country allegiance without having made any effort to informed yourself about it.

I believe there are certain rules regarding ¿naturalized? players (forgive me if that word doesn’t exist but English is not my first languaje). I mean, Ibacka is eligible to play for Spain national team because he’s been spanish for a number of years (don’t know really how many years are needed), he came to Spain and got the citizenship as he was still a junior player. Also, and more important, I believe you can have only one naturalized player per team. Oh, and no player that has ever played for a country’s national team is eligible to play for any other.

He lived/lives there before coming to play in the NBA. Also one doesn’t need to be born in a country to have nationality. As long as you’ve lived there for X amount of time and fit the rrest of criteria anyone can apply for citizenship.

Most Americans won’t be aware of this, but standing there and watching the haka – accepting the challenge face on – is the appropriate cultural response to a haka. The US team was the first team to enquire about this, and so they did it, they first team at the World Cup to do so. I have huge respect for the fact that they took it seriously from the outset. Well done US.

As a NZer thanks to the usa bball team for standing in front of the haka well done, harden’s face is funny like what these fulla’s doing lol. ka mau te wehi, also the rugby guys have been doing it for years that’s why they have a better flow but its all about giving it your best. Mauri tu mauri ora

By the way the face of Kenteh Faried is also very funny.
I have to admit though that the Tall Blacks aren’t as impressive that their All Blacks fellow.
I still enjoy the Haka tradition, it give me chill bumps every time.

mad love for the gasol brothers but they do not want it with anthony davis! a davis was the true defensive player of the year in 2014, noah knows that! A Davis is the future of the nba he will be around for a long time shattering records! I almost wanna call him a kg/hakeem hybrid! spain has no chance to win this game!

The Haka is one of the coolest traditions in sports (and beyond). Apart from that inherent coolness and beauty, I think that pretty much any of us commenting here would be closer to soil our pants rather than to laughing if either these guys or the Tall Blacks were to perform it for us. Including those who wrote comments in the line of it being silly.